Consequences
by Bestbuds55
Summary: It had been an easy split second decision for Pietro to put himself in between Hawkeye, the little boy he was holding and the bullets. He had not expected to live through it, but pictured that it would be a good thing to die for. Things don't always work out the way they were attended though. It's time to grow up and deal with the consequences.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: It that time again, where in input with something completely new! This is just going to be a short-ish two-shot, but I enjoyed writing it with feeling, so that's all that really matters. I think this is the last thing I'm going to write about Pietro for a while, as it's been so long since I've seen the movie now. Feel free to check out some of my other works as well, as I just finished one called Something New and it was NatashaxPietro. I've begun other projects as well, but this slightly sidetracked me.**

 **Feel free to review if you have the time and enjoy the story!**

It had been an easy split second decision for Pietro to put himself in between Hawkeye, the little boy he was holding and the bullets. He had not expected to live through it, but pictured that it would be a good thing to die for. An older, good man and an innocent child that had no business being in danger in the first place. That annoying old man didn't have business being there either, Pietro could run circles around the guy not even using his enhanced speed either. So, two for the life of one had been an easy choice and Wanda could tell everyone that he died a good man instead of a good for nothing street rat. That would be easier for her as well, maybe Hawkeye would make sure she was taken care of, since Pietro had made this big sacrifice for him.

He hadn't planned on waking up, let alone only minutes later to the guy he had just saved sprawled out over the seat just beside of him, looking more dead than alive. It was a shock, not because he didn't think he would have lived through that either, but because Hawkeye was alone. He looked worse than Pietro and only had one bullet wound noticeable. Then again, the guy was certainly not enhanced and looked to be bleeding out quite easily, his breathing was harsh and his eyes were closed.

The plane that they were on shook a bit, reminding Pietro just how much he preferred being on the ground to the air, and Hawkeye fell off his bench and landed on Pietro. Well, Pietro guessed that at least that had hurt the old man less than the ground probably would have. It knocked the breath right out of Pietro for a moment, but like everything else he was fast to recover. The fact that Hawkeye didn't have any reaction though, was not a good thing.

With a strained huff, Pietro pulled them over gently so that Clint was laying down on his back, and Pietro was hovering over him. His own wounds itched, but he couldn't feel any of them bleeding anymore; it was probably another side effect of being enhanced that he didn't want to think about. Most of the bullets remained in his skin, but now wasn't the time to worry about that, they could be removed later by one who knew what they were doing.

He put pressure on the other man's wounds and took note of the whimper that he received in return. That was not good, and Pietro was starting to really worry. The rest of the avengers wouldn't just leave one of their own for dead, would they? They seemed to have been a tighter team then that on the battlefield, but Pietro's respect for them was just slowly draining.

Hawkeye's eyes fluttered open but they didn't seem to see anything around him, Pietro took a guess that he was already fevered and would not put it past him to be hallucinating. A voice would calm him though, he could remember his sister talking him through fevers and stroking his hair. It was thoughts like that that still grounded him from day to day. "Old man, you are going to be okay now, Pietro is here with you." He sounded stupid in even his own ears, but he really wasn't sure what to say. What do you say to a man whom you nearly died for but seemly now failed to save?

"Clint, not that old." The old man, Clint, rasped out with a degree of difficulty. Clint was a weird name that Pietro hadn't heard before, but they came from differ bet countries so it probably wasn't that strange in America. Or maybe it was, but it seemed to suit Hawkeye none the less.

"Okay then Clint, I'm going to need you to stay awake with me. We will be landing soon." He didn't know when they would be landing, but could really hope that it would be soon. Another whimper left Clint and Pietro found himself rearranging them so that Clint head was in his lap, while he was still able to put a fair amount of pressure on the shot wound.

The ship rocked slightly, but nowhere near as bad as it had the first time, yet Pietro didn't even notice. His attention was full on Clint. He wasn't sure what else he could possibly do but hold him close and keep him from being alone during these moments. Wanda was always so much better at this kind of thing, if she was here instead of him, Clint probably would have been much better off.

Wanda wasn't here right now though, and Pietro was. Clint turned his head and nuzzled the inside of Pietro's upper thigh and for a split second Pietro thought that it had been stupid to move them into this position. Then he practically smacked himself, Clint was in a lot of pain and he was just looking for comfort. He probably didn't even know it was Pietro or remember that that was his name. _Don't pop a boner with a guy slowly dying in your lap._

Clint's hand came up, and rested with his over the open wounds, not putting pressure but just resting there. His hand was colder then Pietro would prefer it into be, and Pietro was beginning to worry that they'd never land. Clint was going to bleed to death before he was going to get help at this rate. The scarier thought was that Pietro would be the one spending his last moments together with him if he didn't make it. Someone he had just meant and had never had a pleasantry with.

The ship started jolting though, and Pietro suspected that it was in fact due to landing. It wasn't good for Clint though, as the man hissed into Pietro's thigh and tried to bit his lip to stop the sound. Tried was the right word, because he was plastered so far into Pietro's thigh that he only succeeded in biting Pietro. Whom, was not happy about the harsh bite and had to stop himself from yelping and jolting away.

The doors opened and medics rushed in, with a worried Wanda. The bed they were rushing in was clearly meant for him, but he called to them without hesitation and proceeded to help load Clint into the bed. It was one of the only times in his life when he pushed his sister aside, he ran with the medics not even caring where they were.

A surgery room was where they arrived at and Pietro was pushed back out the doors. Which closed in front of him, and he had never felt so stressed in his life. What if he died in there, what if Clint called out for him? Wanda caught up with him and tugged him into a hug, he returned it out of instinct only for his gaze never left that pair of doors. Clint had been dying in his hands, and now was out of reach. Pietro's heart pumped hard and he felt a little bit dizzy from the stress. He could still loose Clint, but he wouldn't even be beside him.

Wanda led him to a chair to sit down and felt the bullets now under with his skin, he knew they had to be removed, but not while Clint was vulnerable like this. If someone attacked the hospital now, Clint would be defenceless and open to death. Pietro would watch over him until he woke up, besides he didn't have anywhere else to go.

When Wanda was done feeling the skin, they wrapped themselves up together to sit in wait in silence. The best thing about Wanda was she didn't need words between them, a simple touch was always enough. He wished he was in that operating room holding Clint's hand, he needed that touch too. That was a consequence of caring, it hurt when the other hurt and you worried when you didn't know if they were okay.

He cared now though and that wasn't going to stop; damn the consequences.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: This is the third and perhaps finally story for now with Pietro in it, as I have a new project I want to move onto. Of course, this is the last chapter of what ended up being a two-shot, but I just wanted you to know ahead of time. Don't be too angry about it please! I would love to be able to read your thoughts and reviews of my story, so thanks to anyone whom leaves one for me.**

Pietro had never had such a long night in his life; waiting for Clint to come out of surgery. It had taken eight and a half hours before anyone had come out of the room. Wanda had been the only thing stopping him from busting in there and demanding they work faster and heal him better. She had said not to piss off the doctors, and that they were working to save him; it would only be a matter of time.

A matter of time seemed to take forever though, and twice doctors had come by to persuade him away. He needed the bullets out they had said to him; but he needed Clint to be alright first. How could he focus on anything else when the man he had risked it all for was still in danger of dying ten feet away from him? And so he remained sitting, waiting for the doors to open and tapping his foot rapidly against the floor.

His sister eventually fell asleep, but Pietro wasn't about to, for he had to remain vigilant for his cause. His insisting paid off because at 3:30 am, a doctor came out and looked around for people to inform. Pietro all but attacked the tired woman; but got to hear exactly what he wanted; it was a close call but Agent Barton pulled through. One family member is allowed to come in and sit with him, but he is not awake yet.

Pietro panicked when only family members were allowed in; did it look like he had any family pacing the hall for him to get out of surgery? The rest of the Avengers weren't even here for him for god's sake! "I am here to sit with him, he has no one else." Pietro wasn't trying to start an argument, and by the looks of the tired doctor, neither was she. Maybe it tugged at her heart string as well, to see that indeed no one else was here for the man she had just worked so hard to save. She led him away from the operating room, to where Clint was currently being wheeled.

He was situated with many noisy machines around him and Pietro hadn't expected him to look so pale. Or have some many bandages. A seat was pulled from the wall and Pietro sat beside the injured man, taking in the breathing tube giving him oxygen. The doctor chose this moment to speak to him, perhaps telling him just because there simply was no one else.

"Two ribs shattered and destroyed one of his lungs, a bullet was extracted from his diaphragm and he wasn't getting enough oxygen for quite some time. Your friend is lucky to be alive, but I think that this is the end of his career as a field agent. If anyone comes in and asks who you are tell them he is your fiancé. I don't want to get into trouble or have you thrown out." Pietro's mouth was dry, but he managed to nod. Clint wouldn't have to go into the field anymore and that thought was a tough one, they wouldn't be teammates anymore; but the man would be safe from any danger like this.

He would be upset about it, Pietro didn't even know him that well and he could recognize that. It would be better though, he could be a trainer or a handler instead. He could stay by Pietro's side while not on missions instead, and they could make the best out of this. All he had to do was wake up.

The doctor left after a few more moments and then Pietro was alone with an unconscious Clint and his own thoughts. Fiancé wasn't a word that he had heard before, but he'd make sure to remember it if it would keep him from getting kicked out of the room. It didn't even sound English to him, but Pietro really didn't understand anything more than the basic of English. The Twins had only learned because that was what everyone spoke when they wed on the hydra base. It had almost been like some kind of education for them to have, Wanda was now trying to pick up reading English and Pietro could barely read in his own language let alone a second one. Now he wished he could, just so he could read to Clint.

He settled for tracing his fingers down the archers arm, noting his muscles that had no doubt hardened with time and use. Pietro was a bigger guy, but if he had to admit, he had been quite scrawny before the enhancements. He had packed on about 50 pounds of muscle during the experiments, and went from being a starving 16 year old, 120 pounds of boy; to a 21 year old, 170 pound man. He was always hungry now, the running took everything he ate and more from his system, but he hadn't told the avengers that yet.

It was almost like a weakness in his eyes; he would tell Clint when he woke up. Maybe they'd laugh about it and then Clint would show him all kinds of his favourite food places when he got released from hospital care. That sounded nice, and he could barely wait for Clint to wake up. The old man needed his rest though, and he looked so vulnerable with his breathing tube, Pietro couldn't help but feel protective of him.

No one would disturb him while Pietro was on watch, no one at all. He leaned in his chair so that he head rested against Clint leg and his hand held Clint's to his lips. It felt nice to be here for someone like this, and he was running clear out of energy. He should have had food after the battle, the bullets should have already been removed and were starting to itch. Right now though, he was peaceful and touching Clint.

Everything was going to be okay, and together they could get through this. He pressed his lips to Clint's hand repeatedly, and could help but think of when the other man woke up, where else he would press his lips. They had been nothing but sassy to each other and Pietro maybe even a bit cruel when they first met, but he was ready to move on from that. He had meant to give his life up for the archer, yet still he got injured and they ended up here.

A split second decision had felt like it changed every fibre of Pietro's being and he was ready to run with the consequences. Hell, if Clint let him, Pietro would carry him the rest of the way


End file.
